


5 Tournaments Arya Never Jousted In

by modbelle



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: 5x are drabble-like, AU is another place the head goes, Arya: Daddy's little badass, Baratheons are haunted men, Cameos, F/M, Men deserve flower crowns, On LJ first and looking for a vacation home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-24
Updated: 2012-08-24
Packaged: 2017-11-12 19:30:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/494853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/modbelle/pseuds/modbelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt- Five men crowned Kings of Love and Beauty?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tournament of the Hand: Older!Arya

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing, all characters belong to HBO and George R.R. Martin.  
> Repost from lj: asoiafkinkmeme  
> Spoilers through A Storm of Swords (for #2 others probably safe up to a Second Season/A Clash of Kings).

Staring across the opposite end of the jousting field at Jaime Lannister, Arya says a quick prayer to the old gods and new. She got so far to lose now, Jaime was her last component, and when finally the helmet came off, she wanted a victory. When Arya planted the lance into Jaime and managed to unhorse him, she cheered herself. Walking side by side with Jaime Lannister afterwards to where King Robert, his family, her father, and Sansa sat, Arya realized this was the real test. 

Pulling off her helmet, she was greeted by King Robert’s booming laughter, “Kingslayer got unhorsed by a girl.” 

Cersei looked murderous, “She should be disqualified. That wild thing had no business being in the tournament. What is the meaning of this Lord Stark? How dare you humiliate your king?”

“Enough, woman, the only one humiliated is your precious brother,” responds the King. Arya glanced up at the stands where her father met her gaze steadfast and Sansa pretended she didn’t exist. Then looking at Jaime by her side, she could feel the anger coming off him in waves. Jaime seems to have enough of the farce at his expense and walks back towards his horse. When King Robert comes close and hands her the flowers, he stops dead in his tracks, his eyes searching her face like it’s the first time he’s ever seen Arya. Really he hasn’t seen much of her in King’s Landing, and Arya preferred it that way. “Lyanna,” he calls and Arya peers around but there is no one else there. She takes the flowers from him as quickly as possible, but he grabs her hand. Wrenching, pulling, twisting, she manages to free her hand from his vice like grip. Originally she meant to give the winter roses to her father; after all, they are his favorite. In this moment, however, she would rather get farther away from the King and his haunted eyes. So she distances herself from the stands and wonders who she should give these blasted flowers to now. Seeing Jaime, she’s struck with the desire to further upset Cersei. Arya twines the flower crown into Jaime’s hair. She meant it to be humiliating; but the grime and fury bring out his eyes, and he appears so very much like a lion. He’s more handsome when he’s not all put together. While she’s sure he is no King of Love, he is probably the one must deserving crowned of beauty. 

“Are we done?” Jaime asks.

“You have gold flecks in your eyes,” Arya says, and she’s not sure what is wrong with her. She sounds as stupid as Jeyne Poole. He smirks, nothing friendly about it, and glances back at the stands and the King’s jealous stance. She feels that smirk against her skin as he places a kiss to her cheek and whispers, “Generally when you crown someone, you get more thanks than this. Something to keep in mind for the future.”


	2. King Joffrey's Death Tournament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU setting where Joffrey still dies at his wedding but Tywin takes Arya with him to King's Landing where she is recognized, and Oberyn wins the death match against the Mountain.

Jaime thinks this is something sick. He tried to make his sister see but she wants her revenge, wants Joffrey back, even though nothing will bring him back to life. Secretly he’s thankful for that. After his wedding day, Joffrey decided he wanted to celebrate his happy union with a tournament, or so Jaime had been told. Joffrey made it known the prisoner or better known as Tywin’s cupbearer Arya Stark was mandated to participate. It was highly unlikely his father ever intended to allow Arya to actually partake in the tournament whether or not Joffrey told every nobleman passing by. But Joffrey died and Oberyn Martell proved Tyrion and Sansa innocent in combat against the Mountain. Cersei wanted someone to pay. If Cersei couldn’t have Sansa which even father seemed convinced didn’t have anything to do with Joffrey’s death, Cersei was determined to have Sansa’s sister, Arya. So Cersei made a public announcement at the end of Tyrion and Sansa’s trial that the tournament would go on as planned, and Arya Stark would contend just like Joffrey wished.

Now Arya Stark had done the unthinkable and won. There are murmurs so quiet about Lyanna, gods, and Robert Baratheon’s love for them all. What a joke, Robert cared for nothing but booze, boars, and whores. Fuming, Cersei still doesn’t fully understand the issue. But father does. A mere child, a female child, beat grown men. The spectators link it to gods and ghosts. How else will they explain it? If the gods and their beloved Robert are on the Starks side as well, they will start questioning the claims of Ned Stark’s treason. Everyone loves a winner and a myth. Doesn’t matter they never helped Arya Stark, and would jeer had she lost. She won now, and it means _something._ The lion does pay attention to the whisperings of the sheep no matter what father claims, and he sees the danger. Cersei will be banished to the Rock after this, whether or not Jaime purposed stripping off his cloak and marrying within the hour.

Tommen hands the winter roses to Arya and looks almost hopeful she’ll at least smile at him. He should be happy enough a Stark acknowledges his existence long enough to take the flowers from his hand. His father… Jaime wishes he could understand his father’s look as he stares at Arya; but he can’t and his father remains as much a mystery as ever. Arya doesn’t hesitate, and Jaime wonders if she has this planned out. Pulling a single flower out, Arya hands it to her sister, and then turns towards Oberyn Martell who sits next to the Lannisters’ side in a place of honor. “For you,” Arya tells Oberyn. Whether or not Arya Stark orchestrated her plan for the crowning ahead of time, Oberyn certainly wasn’t informed; he’s too pleased by the turn of events.

“Last time a tournament held a Martell in the audience, my sister was wrongfully overlooked for a Stark; but the Stark does not wrong us rather she crowns a Martell the King of Love and Beauty. I accept on behalf of my sister and myself,” Oberyn informs Arya. While he would rather not deal with politics, he can see Oberyn looks forward to a Martell-Stark alliance, plotting the very destruction of the men that he sits with. Later, Cersei begs Jaime to kill Arya. Jaime suspected all along that was the reason for the tournament and he doesn’t delude himself that must have been Joffrey’s purpose in hosting a tournament from the beginning. In the morning, Jaime wakes to find King’s Landing in an uproar. Apparently Oberyn and his entourage picked up and left during the night, taking the Stark girls with him, while drugged Lannister guards and gold cloaks slept everywhere. Cursing, Jaime now realizes he has to somehow rescue the Stark girls from Dorne in order to bring them back to their mother.


	3. Tournament at Storm's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU Future: Stannis holds a tournament to drum up support. He grinds his teeth. The things he must do to be King.

When the helmet came off, and Arya Stark stood there awaiting the winter roses. Stannis ground his teeth. No girl should have been allowed in his tournament. He didn’t even want the thing. But he was informed there must be a tournament for support, and it was his job as a king to do it. So he bared it, just like everything else he must. Arya would do better to learn sewing, which hers was atrocious, he told her so. Davos advised he needed Northern support, Stark support, and could use not alienating her. He thought the female, what was she again fourteen, fifteen years old? Well she would get knocked out in the first round, and that was fair since she had no business being in this inane tournament anyway. Now he had to hand over winter roses to the girl. He would make sure to have a stern talk with Shireen after this so she didn’t get wrong ideas.

Arya Stark took the flowers from him and proceeded towards “Robert’s men.” Just what he needed drinkers and whorers underneath his roof. She couldn’t have brought decent men. As he informed these men about the proper mode of conduct staying here, they had the audacity to tell him they would stay at a local brothel and come back for the tournament. They had a decent archer, besting in the archery competition, and he would have offered the man a position, if not for his loose morals. Robert would have loved them. Stannis ground his teeth. Stannis saw Arya put flowers in a man’s hair, for a second he thought it was Renly playing dress up, some peasant-knight look. Renly would come over and tell him it was in fashion now like Stannis cared about such things. But Renly hated dirt and didn’t have those muscles. The man, not Renly, pulled out a fruit and bit into it. Not a peach, not Renly, Stannis told himself, as the man turned and looked at him with the same storm-blue eyes.


	4. Tournament at Castle Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU future: The Wildlings reflect on the weird ways people on the South side of the Wall drum up support.

Wildlings looked curiously on the strange customs. People competed by two at a time riding horses at each other and trying to hit the other off with a big stick. It seemed rather useless, but for some reason this was supposed to help kneeler’s interest in Castle Black and bring more men. Really these people were so stupid. How did they build the wall in the first place? Jon Snow’s sister won, proving they could get strong babies on her if only they could steal her. No man had been successful. Jon Snow wasn’t as stupid as other kneelers; he took to sleeping with his sister as is the wildling way to better prevent them stealing her. The two direwolves as guards were harder to pass. One wildling man managed to get past by both once, but the woman fought hard and won. It made the wildlings want to steal the female version of Jon Snow even more. For some reason flowers crown beauty and love, and Jon Snow hands the flowers for Female Jon Snow to choose, and she hands them right back to Jon Snow. Tormound laughs, “Harhar, knew Jon Snow was pretty, proof.” Jon Snow looks even prettier when he blushes, and his sister places the flowers in his hair. Wildlings wonder if maybe they should steal the Jon Snows as a set.


	5. Tournament at Winterfell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU Future: The Stark Siblings are back at Winterfell where they belong!

Ever since the Starks regained Winterfell, they had been busy with the rebuilding. While it would be some time before the castle would be once again restored to its former glory, it was now habitable. In Sansa’s happiness, she mandated a tournament held. Showing the power and stability of the strength to the Stark bannermen, the siblings agreed it a good idea, although some wondered if some portion of Sansa’s old love for knights, songs, and tourneys lingered in her. Strangely, they hoped she did. So a tournament was held, and Arya won. Sansa handed over the flowers to her sister, hoping no one thought the tournament rigged given that a Stark won.

Curiosity caught Sansa when Arya took the flowers gracefully from her, remembering her courtesies for once, and headed away from the tournament field. Sansa politely excused herself from her guests and found her siblings trailing after her as she followed Arya, all the while wishing her sister had the decency to slow down. Ladies are not supposed to run in their dresses! Checking each way, Sansa lifted her skirt up a slight to better help her movement, and dared any of her brothers to say a single word. They followed Arya down into the Stark crypts, and found her at the statue of their father. 

Gingerly, Arya leaned upward to give the winter roses to the cold statue. Sansa remembered how winter roses were their father’s favorite, and Arya would bring them to him and how ridiculous Sansa thought her. Seeing Arya now, place the flowers in the statue’s waiting hands, she hopes father’s ghost smiles like father always used to. She would put a hand on her sister’s back, but it’s too private of a moment and her siblings and her intruders. She shoos her siblings back up the stairs, and resolving to sneak into her sister’s bed and hold her extra close even though Jaime looked particularly handsome in his armor today. Sansa learned awhile ago, sisters were more precious than knights.


End file.
